Outright odds : 250/1
Group G Winners : 10/1
South Korea shocked the soccer world four years back when they beat Italy and Spain to get to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. It definitely was a remarkable accomplishment. In the group stage, an opening match win over Poland and a shock 1-0 victory over Portugal made sure they became the first Asian team to qualify from the group stage since Saudi Arabia in 1994.
In the second round they defeated Italy in additional time, a result which saw winning goal scorer Ahn Jung-Hwan sacked by his employers at Serie A club Perugia. They rimmed past Spain on penalties in the quarter finals before a narrow 1-0 defeat against Germany in the semis brought their fairytale run to a close.
expectations have risen significantly since that point and Guus Hiddink is a hard act to follow. During qualification Korea went thru two coaches before fellow Dutchman Dick Advocaat took control of in preparation for the finals in Germany.
South Korea were a long way from convincing during qualification and Hiddkink’s successor, HUmberto Coelho, lasted only 2 qualifying matches. He resigned after a shameful goalless draw against the Maldives whose current pedigree has a 12-0 defeat to Syria and 17-0 hammering against Iran.
Jo Bonfrere took over and notwithstanding directing the team to their 5th successive World Cup finals, quit in Aug 2005 following lacklustre performances. Korea finished as runners up in their qualifying group but endured home and away defeats to Saudi Arabia and an away draw to lowly Uzbekistan.
While Hiddink enjoyed nearly half a season with the team 4 years back in preparation for the 2002 finals, Advocaat, in comparison, has barely had an opportunity to begin to know his squad.
South Korea will no longer be seen as an unassessed quantity and a number of players are excelling at club level in Europe. Hiddink took a number of quality players with him to PSV Eindoven following the last tournament while Park Ji-Sung secured a move to Manchester United.
it may also be argued that Korea have fought defensively since some of their vet defenders retired since the last World Cup. Particularly previous captain and defensive lynchpin Myung Bo Hong who took part in the 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 finals, ultimately retiring with 135 caps.
counseled Bet
Following an exceptional run 4 years ago, South Korea could revert to their old ways of not making it past the group stage. Expectancy is at aall time record} high but they could suffer from a shock against Togo in their opening match who might be good enough for a draw.
Togo vs South Korea draw 9/4.
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Tags: Advocaat, Seoul, South Korea, World Cup